November 29, 2015

I've
written now about the the way of salvation, as far as initial
salvation goes, but what about our life down here and the future
beyond this life? That too, is a part of salvation, and this is what
we want to explore today!

So
yes, it is true that once we are initially saved, that we will never
lose our salvation. Why? Because Christ made fulland not
partialpayment for
our sin! More on that in a bit, but for now let us define what is
meant by the three parts of salvation. Well, as said, the first part
is that act of faith in the Savior who saves us from the consequences
of our sin.
For we read, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Then, secondly, we have this
life. Here, He saved us from the power
or
dominion of
sin. God says, “Sin will no longer have dominion over you.”
(Romans 6:14a) Then comes the third and final stage of our salvation,
deliverance from the very presence
of sin
in Heaven. Yes, this is also a part of salvation, but it obviously
has as yet not happened! For it is written, “For salvation is
nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11b) So,
there we have it, the three parts of salvation!

Now,
just to touch briefly on the thoughts regarding whether we can lose
our salvation or not. Well, did Jesus purchase us a full, or a
partial salvation? If it is indeed full, then it includes all three
parts of that salvation, including our future in Heaven above!
Further to that, the Word says that upon believing, “We should not
perish but haveeverlasting
life.” (John 3:16b) Notice, it says that that we “have,”
present tense, “everlasting life”! How, I ask, can you lose
something that has no end? Also, Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to
save to the uttermost [completely] those who draw near to God through
him, since he always lives to make
intercession for them.”
Look, if we can lose our salvation, then the fault would be with
Jesus! It is clearly He who saves, and not us! If we could lose our
salvation, then Jesus would be to blame for not “make[ing]
intercession for [us].”

Someone
may bring up Hebrews six, but we must first realize that you neverinterpret a
clear passage of Scripture with an obscure/difficult passage of
Scripture, but always the reverse. Now, we must realize the context
of the Hebrews passage. Who is it addressed to? It is written to
Jews. Are you a Jew? Likely not. This speaks of those who tasted of
the truth of Christianity and the New Covenant (New Agreement), and
either have, or are contemplating going back to Judaism. Though they
were never actually saved in the first place. That is what is being
addressed there. So then, to get “unsaved,” you would have to pay
back Christ the death He died for you and kick the Holy Spirit out
who has come to take up permanent residence in you! And yes, somehow
undo “eternal life”. So I ask, are you stronger than God?

So,
can we know that
we are saved and will be in Heaven for sure? The Word of God says, “I
write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God
that you may KNOW that you HAVE eternal life.” (1John 5:13) How can
we “know” these things with such a certainty? When we are
trusting that Jesus, who is God, is able to fullysave us,
because we trust that what He did was enough,
and we don't need to help God out at all. We are simply resting in
Him and His finished work on our behalf!

See
you next time, for a look into the future, for our last segment of
this six part series!

November 28, 2015

Now
regarding the things to come. Well, we've already discussed Heaven
and Hell previously. Yet, what about the things regarding “the
end”? Things respecting judgment and the resurrection? First off,
these things are very near! For we read, “He who testifies to these
things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.'” (Revelation 22:20) Let's
take a look and see...

THE SAINTS
RESURRECTED

So,
now, let us examine these things in chronological order. First at
hand is the resurrection of the saints. For it is written, “But we
do not want you to be uniformed, brothers, about those who are
asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For
since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through
Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this
we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who
are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who
have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven
with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first. Then we who are alive, who are left [Christians], will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one
another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) We also read,
“But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his
coming those who belong to Christ.” (1Cor.15:23) We
see then, that the Christians are the first to be resurrected, that
is after Christ, who is the “firstfruit.”

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

Now,
immediately after the resurrection of the saints, a time called, “The
Tribulation,” will begin and last for seven years. This period can
further be divided into two sections. The first half will be a period
of relative peace. For the false Messiah – the Antichrist will be
ruling the world. Then in the middle of this period he will break the
covenant and all-out havoc will ensue, such as the world has never
seen before! He will demand worship as if he were God. All those who
refuse to bow will lose their lives.

Just
to very briefly look at another view that is commonly held. Many
insist that the Christians will have to go through the great
tribulation. However, if you closely look at the book of Revelation,
you will notice that all mention of the church falls silent after the
first chapters regarding the seven churches. Instead, you will find
everything referring to Israel. For the church will have been taken
from the Earth to be with Jesus Christ, and now once more, God will
be dealing with the Jews. Hence the latter half of the great
tribulation is also known, biblically, as “Jacob's trouble.”

This
will be a time of great distress! We read of such things as this:
“The sea, became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing
died that was in the sea.” “The sun, and it was allowed to scorch
people with fire. They were scorched by its fierce heat.”
(Revelation 16:3,8) We also read, “I looked, and behold, there was
a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full
moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as
the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky
vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain
and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth
and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful,
and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among
the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks,
'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their
wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17) This is
but a sample of the terrifying things that will transpire upon the
Earth during the seven year tribulation period when God judges the
ungodly.

As
I mentioned earlier, this period will also be a time when God again
deals with Israel. Out of this company, only a remnant will be saved.
The Bible speaks of the “144,000.” These “144,000,” will be a
witness in the Earth. Many from the nations will be saved during the
tribulation period because of their witness. So what will become of
these believers? It is written, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on
them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I
saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of
Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the
beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads
or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the
thousand years were ended.” (Revelation 20:4-5) Notice that this
company is to the exclusion of all believers prior to the Tribulation
period. So then, we see another company of believers, this time from
those who were saved during the tribulation period.

THE MELLENIUM

After
the tribulation events are completed, Jesus Christ Himself will reign
upon the Earth in the midst of the Jewish nation of Israel. This
period of time will last for 1000 years. It will be a period of true
peace under the true Messiah, as opposed to the imitation peace under
the false Messiah of the Antichrist.

ARMAGEDDON

After
this 1000 year period will be the Battle of Armageddon. At this point
Satan is released from the pit and will gather the non-believers from
the nations in an attempt to overthrow Christ and the Jewish nation.
He will promptly be overthrown by Christ Himself. The ungodly of the
world will now be resurrected and cast into the Lake of Fire, where
all the unholy angels are, including Satan himself. This will be
their permanent home. From here on, God will reign forever and ever
in the new heavens and Earth wherein righteousness dwells! (See
2Peter 3:11-13)

I
know I left out a tremendous amount of details, but this simplifies
things in order to get the general gist of how the “end time”
events play out. This then, brings our six part series to a close.
Thank you for taking the time to read this six part series! See you
soon, for more informative posts!

November 18, 2015

Here
we are again! Let us now put this critical puzzle piece in place.

A REMEDY FOR THE
DIAGNOSIS

Last time we saw that Jesus Christ was called, “the Lamb of God.”
We also saw, that all the sacrifices in the Old Testament spoke of
Him. Before that, we saw that all God's rules, including the ten
commandments, could only showus
that we are sinful, just as a mirror does. We concluded that there
was no hope in and of ourselves. We saw that we needed a deliver to
save us! Then, we received the news that Jesus had arrived to, “take
away our sin.” Yet, how would He do this? Well, just like the lambs
had to die, so Jesus would die. Just like the person in the Old
Testament would lay their hand on the head of the sacrificial animal,
showing that all their sins were transferred to the animal, so all
your sin and my sin was heaped on Jesus. Then, just as the animal had
to die for the sins of that person as their substitute, so Jesus died
to pay for all your sin that was heaped upon Him. For it is written,
“And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah
53:6b) Look! Jesus Christ took your place, your sin, and your death!
In this way the wages for your sin was paid in full – past and
future too! We know what the Scriptures say, “The wages of sin is
death,” and “Without shedding of blood [death], is no
forgiveness.” (Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:22) That is why
Jesus died – there
was no other remedy!

IT'S
PERSONAL

Now,
if Jesus paid the penalty for everyone's sin, including yours, why
isn't everyone saved? Well, this is were it really gets to be a
personal thing – trust. So we must see that the Bible speaks of
three words that have essentially the same meaning: trust, believe,
and faith. Let me now give you an example of how this plays out.
Let's say, the government could decide to pay for everyone's debt in
all its land. It could write out cheques for everyone. However,
unless you cashed that cheque, it would do you no good, would it? No
debt would be paid. The bank could still cause you to foreclose.
Those you owed, could still sue you. See then, that it works the same
way with God. He paid your debt, but unless you actually trust Jesus
the Saviour as your own Saviour,
it will do you no good. God will still hold you to account for your
sin and you'll have to pay in Hell forever! This is why the Bible
says, “For by grace you have been saved through
faith.” (Ephesians
2:8) Again, we read, “Whoever believesin
him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe is condemned
already, because he has not believedin
the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18) So, have you “cashed
your cheque”?

WILL I ACCEPT GOD'S
GIFT?

So,
it really all “boils down” to this, who or what are you
trusting, if anyone or
anything at all? Are you trusting your good works? In that case, you
see yourself as your own saviour, and are saying that God the Father
sent His Son to die on the cross for no reason. Do you really think
you know better than God? God said, “For by works of the law no
human being will be justified [made right with Him] in his sight,
since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Further, it says,
“For allhave
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And still further, we
read, “For we hold that one is justified [made right with God]
apart from works of the law.”
(Romans 3:20, 23, 28) Instead, we read that we, “Are justified by
his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward
as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by
faith.” (Romans
3:24-25) Simply said, God sent His Son Jesus to pay for you by His
death, in order for you to be pardoned and walk away free! We could
simply say, do you think that Jesus is asufficient Saviour for you? God tells us about those who “rebelled” against
Him, that, “They were unable to enter because of
unbelief.” (Hebrews
3:19)

November 13, 2015

Just
to briefly recap. In the first segment, we saw that God is holy and
separate from sinners. For it is sin, that separates us from our holy
Creator-God. Then, in the second segment, we saw that God's rules
show us
that we are sinners. Just like a mirror reveals that we have dirty
faces, so the ten commandments show us that we are stained with sin.
We saw too, that “the tree of knowing the rules,” could not give
life. Still further, we saw that the ten commandments could not give
life either! In fact, they both brought about death – separation
from our holy Creator-God. So we realize then, that a mirror cannot
clean one, it only reveals our dirty faces – so God's laws do the
same. So, where do we turn for deliverance then? That is exactly what
we want to look at today! Let's check it out!

AN ANIMAL PICTURE

So,
back to the garden we go again. This time we want to look at the
second tree, the tree of life. This tree offered its eaters “eternal
life.” Yet, Adam and Eve chose not to eat from it. After there sin,
God would clothe them with animal skins. This meant that there was
death. So, as we saw earlier, this showed that there had to be a
substitute for Adam and Eve. It also showed that the payment for sin
was death. Lastly, it showed that the
remedy had to come from God,
not us. This shows, as a picture, what it would take for a person to
be restored to fellowship with God.

However,
God would continue to underline, and reunderline this picture through
the course of the Old Testament. We would see Abel bring an animal
from the flock to sacrifice. Again, the same thing was being pictured
– a substitutionary death. Later, we would see Abraham place his
son Isaac on an altar and a ram taking Isaac's place. Same picture
again – substitution! Still later, we would see the Israelites kill
the passover lambs in Egypt before their departure. Same picture
again! Yet, in this instance, we're given more details. The lamb had
specific requirements and eating regulations. It had to be perfect, a
year old, a male, some of its blood had to be put on the person's
door frame, and it had to be roasted, eaten in the home, and so on.
However, this was only the beginning of God using this picture. We
discover the Israelites killing tens of thousands of animals for
sacrifices throughout the Old Testament, but, when we arrive in the
New Testament they stop. Ever wonder why? Ever wonder what all those
sacrifices were about? Why all the death?

GOD'S REMEDY

These
questions begin to be answered, when we hear John the Baptist say,
“Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”
(John 1:29) You see, back in the garden again, God had promised that
He would send a deliver to save humankind from their sin. Now, John
announces that this deliver has finally arrived, by announcing,
“Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”
Understand then, that all the Old Testament sacrifices of animals
could not remove sin, it only showed us, as in a picture, what
it would take for
our sin to be removed and fellowship restored with God. So, who was
this deliver? None other than the Lord Jesus Christ! Notice, He is
called, “the Lamb of God.” See then, that He would be the
ultimate sacrifice for us! He would be the fulfillment of the Old
Testament picture of the sacrificed animals! He would be your and my
Substitute! The One who would pay by death the penalty for your and
my sin! He would be our Savior! This is the reason why there would be
no further need of sacrifices. Jesus had paid the the sin-debts of
everyone! For it is written, “It is impossible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sins.” Then, further, we read, “We
have been sanctified through the body of Christ once
for all.”
(Hebrews 10:4, 10)

IT'S PERSONAL

Think
of the Passover again. Think how it had to be a male – Jesus. That
there could be no blemish – sinless Jesus, and so on. Then, during
the Passover, the home with the blood applied would be “passed
over.” There would be no death in
the
home. However, in the Egyptian's home, there would be death – there
was no blood applied. Yet, in the Israelite homes there was no death
because a
death had already
taken
place – the lamb had died. However, the Egyptians had no lamb.
Hence, the Egyptians had to pay the price themselves. In the case of
the Israelites, judgment had already fallen, but in the case of the
Egyptians, it was still outstanding. What a contrast!

So,
what about you, do you have “a lamb,” or will you have to pay
your own sin-debt yourself?

Make
sure to check back for the next critical puzzle piece in the big
picture!

November 08, 2015

So,
last time we took a look at the holiness of our Creator-God. This
time, we want to take a look at how we stack up to God's expectations
of His creation, namely you and I! What does our “score” look
like? How does God, our ultimate Judge, judge us? Let's take a look!

First,
we must take a little meander back into the garden in Eden where God
had initially placed Adam and his wife Eve. It is here, that God
placed two trees – two choices. A tree, we could paraphrase, “The
tree of knowing what the rules are.” The second tree was called,
“The tree of life.” God also explicitly warned, saying, “Of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the
day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) So,
what was so deadly about this tree? Let's check it out!

So,
Adam and Eve had it all, right? A most amazing place to live, fruit
trees of every description, rivers, abundant tame creatures, perfect
health, a fabulous marriage, and a perfect relationship with God –
what could be better? Well, they too thought all was well until...the
devil, also called Satan, snuck into the garden to tempt Eve. She
caved, and ate from the tree God had warned them about – Adam ate
too. They would now find out the consequences of their sin. They
would find, that though the tree they ate from appeared to be good,
in that it seemed to offer life, that it actually brought death, just
like God had warned! From their sin, we will learn a valuable lesson
– if we will listen and pay attention! Yet, what of the other tree,
that did offer
life, why hadn't they eaten from that tree? Yet, this is the choice
they made. God would not forcethem against their will.
God would
not force them to love Him. Yet, there would tremendous
ramifications. Humanity would now be on a devastating spiral of sin,
broken relationships, and heartache, all because Adam and Eve chose
to trust a stranger instead of the God they knew to be loving.

Suddenly,
feelings of guilt and shame swept over Adam and Eve! Should they
admit their guilt, or try and cover it up? With fingers trembling
with nervousness, they hurriedly fashioned themselves some fig leaf
clothes, and hoped their efforts would be good enough to pleases
their Creator-God! Then they went and hid, cowering in shame and
fear. What would God say? What would He do? How would He handle their
sin against the Creator-God? They would soon find out.

God
came looking. He made the initiative, because God loved them still.
Now they were really beginning
to realize, just how much God loved them!
Yes, God grilled them, though He knew what they had done. Yet, He
gave them a chance to admit their sin, but instead they played the
blame game! However, God would not have the wool pulled over His
eyes! For it is written, “The word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul
and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and
intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight,
but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give
account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13) The truth is, their sin brought death,
just like God had warned. They were now separated from
their holy, Creator-God! Their friendship was over! That was the
first meaning of death. The second, was that they would also
physically die, and they did. Finally, they would be cast away from
God for their entire existence after their physical death. The Bible
calls this, “The Second Death.”

Yet,
God did not leave them there, He showed them what it would take for
their relationship to be restored and for them to avoid the “Second
Death.” God would take animal skins and clothe them. This would
show, A, that God, and not us, has the remedy for our sin, and B, it
would show that their must be a substitutionary death as payment for
their sin. So, no, Adam and Eve's seamstress skills were wholly
inadequate! Their efforts fell far short of God's expectations!

So,
we have seen that Adam and Eve didn't score very well. We could say,
they failed the test. They were unable to keep from doing evil and do
the right that the devil had promised the tree could do – even
though they understood what they should, and should not do. In plain
words, knowing what God's rules were didn't help, as they had no
power or
abilityto
obey those rules.

Adam
and Eve had thought that they knew better
than God. Yet,
they were sorely mistaken! Even though God had lovingly given them an
amazing place to live and had generously provided them with
everything they could ever want, yet, they thought that God was
withholding something good – He was not. The reality is that Satan
had lied. God, on the other hand, had spoken the truth. Satan didn't
give a care about them, but God loved them deeply! Where was Satan to
be found after their misadventure? Yet, God sought them out even
though they had sinned against Him!Now we know
who reallyloved them,
don't we?!

God,
however, was not yet done explaining things to us humans! He really
wanted us to understand His holiness and our helplessness. So what
did God do? He gave humanity even more rules! Yes, God gave the ten
commandments! God was going to show just what He expected from us! He
told us not to mess around with those whom we're not married to. He
even went on during His walk on Earth to inform us that that included
even having such thoughts! He also told us not to murder, and again,
He would later explain this to mean, even the thought of wanting to
do such! Of course we are also told not to, steal, cheat, or worship
anything or anyone other than Himself! This is just a sample of what
He told us, but it gives us an idea of what He commanded.

So,
how have you fared? What would you give yourself? Maybe 75%? I don't
know. However, would it surprise you if God demands 100% perfection
for you to get a passing grade? Well, it's true! You say,
“Impossible!” Yep, that is exactly the point God was making by
giving the ten commandments! God's point was the same as with Adam
and Eve – we can't follow His rules – they just bring death. In
fact, these rules display to us that God is holy and that we are
evil, sinful beings. They show that we cannot possibly save ourselves
by trying to be good. The truth is, even our good, is seen as “filthy
rags” by our holy Creator-God. This is very bad news for us. Our
sin, stands as a great big chasm, between us and God.

Do
we have any hope? Absolutely! That is just what we'll be looking into
next time! See you then!

The
Holy Bible is a unique book given to us by our Creator-God. This
amazing book tells about the most important things of this life and
the one to come. This book unfolds to us the character of God, His
expectations of us, and declares all we need to know about the future
too. What an incredible book! Let us touch on some of the most vital
subjects it contains. Are you ready? Let's go!

WHAT
IS GOD LIKE?

PART
1

The
first words God chooses to share with us are, “In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) We know then,
that God created everything – it was not left to chance, or an
accident – God designed it! All these things He fashioned in six
literal days. On day six, the climax of God's epic creation - people.
He made both a man, Adam, and a woman, Eve. These would be the first
two people, and they would be husband and wife. From these two, come
the rest of humanity! These two human beings, God would place in the
most awe-inspiring place, the garden that He personally designed for
them - Eden. They had need of nothing, all was perfect. God had
proven Himself to be a God of love! Yet, did the first man and woman
reciprocate that love?

I
wonder now, if you were to get out a canvas and paint a masterpiece,
who you would say it belonged to, and who would have the right to do
with it as they pleased? I'm sure you'd respond, “It's mine, I can
do with it whatever I want!” Ah, you're right! So it is with God!
He made you and me and then wrapped around us His marvelous creation
for us to enjoy! Wow, what an awesome God! Who could we possibly
compare Him too? The Bible says of Him, “I am the LORD, and there
is no other, besides me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5) Yes, we are
answerable to God,because He made us. He has
every right as such, to tell us how things must be done, and in some
sense, the Bible He gave us, is His instruction book for us!

So
what is God like? Can we chat with Him? Can we go to live with Him inHis home called Heaven when we die? Is He an angry God,
or a caring and loving God? Well, we already noted that God is
loving. However, we want to get a fuller picture of God, and we will
get to these answers soon enough, but for now, we want to look at the
fact that God is holy.

First
of all, what does “holy” even mean? Well, it means to be without
sin. “What is sin,” you ask? It is that which misses the bull's
eye of a target. You see, God has placed certain rules for the people
of His creation. We'll be looking at this subject more in another
segment, but for now, we'll see that these rules show us the absolute
perfection of our Creator-God. God has never sinned and the truth is,
it is impossible for Him to sin. Now, not only is God holy, but His
dwelling place, called Heaven, is also holy. For the Bible says, “His
holy heaven.” (Psalm 20:6)

We
further read of God that He is, “Holy, innocent, unstained,
separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” (Hebrews
7:26) Yet God's desire is that we have a relationship with Him and
worship Him. For we read, “But this command I gave them, 'Obey my
voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk
in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'”
(Jeremiah 7:23) We see then, that God is holy, that we are sinners,
and that God is “separate from sinners. Yet, we see too, that God
desires a real relationship with you and me. That is what God has
always intended and desired. He desires to shower His love and
blessings upon us!

So,
we are beginning to get a little understanding of God and His
holiness, but just what does this imply for you and me? We'll dive
into next time! See you there!